Today, Sasol handed over 600 desks to education authorities in Inhambane province, Mozambique, in a ceremony attended by His Excellency, Luis Antonio Ferrão, the Minister of Education.

The handover aligns with the Government of Mozambique’s “Take the Children off the Floor” (Tirar as Criancas do chão) initiative. Established in 2011, this initiative aims to create an enabling learning environment where children are seated behind desks and enjoy better quality education. The target is to provide a million desks by 2018.

Sasol has pledged to donate 2 000 school desks over the next three years to 2018. The desks, which are sourced from local suppliers, will benefit approximately 3 600 learners.

Speaking at the ceremony on behalf of Maurice Radebe, Executive Vice President Sasol Energy Business, Dr Mateus Zimba, Sasol Mozambique Country Manager said, “Education is one of the key priorities of the Government of Mozambique’s five year programme for 2015-2019. We believe this is important as education provides the ‘cement’ that is necessary to build a strong foundation for a more prosperous Mozambique.”

He said the handover of the school desks today forms part of Sasol’s focus on education and skills development. 

“As Sasol, we are committed to contributing meaningfully to the socio-economic development of Mozambique and enabling the growth of the country’s oil and gas industry through targeted capacity building initiatives.  

“Together with our partners, Companhia Moçambicana de Hidrocarbonetos (CMH) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), we believe in driving shared and sustainable value 
for communities and will continue to invest in programmes that  Improve  the quality of life for communities as we believe it is a fundamental part of our business,” said Dr Zimba.  

“We want to thank Sasol, CMH and IFC for joining this movement to take children off the floor at schools in Mozambique,” said His Excellency, Minister Ferrão.

Notes to the editors:
Sasol’s commitment to Mozambique began well over a decade ago, when, together with its partners, CMH and IFC developed the Pande/Temane natural gas project. This project pioneered the monetisation of the Pande and Temane gas fields which had been effectively ‘stranded’ for over 30 years.